Vol 3 Chapter 38 – Sin

—That place was an incredibly, incredibly beautiful utopia, devoid of even a single impure thing.

When I laid eyes upon it, overwhelmed by its sheer divinity… or perhaps even feeling a sense of nostalgia, I unintentionally shed tears. Wanting to touch it, I reached out my hand.

When I did, starting from the place I touched, that place—which was supposed to be clad in an unimaginably pure white light—rapidly, steadily stagnated into a murky black.

I realized it then. That this was a sanctuary.

And that I was a foreign object within it.

That all I could do was gaze upon this beautiful world.

An untouchable Shangri-La. As long as I didn’t involve myself, this place could remain the most precious place in the world.

I believe that is what it meant.

However, for this body, that was far too lonely. So lonely, so cold, and so isolating.

Being weak, I could not endure it.

That is why I committed a sin.

Even so, that sin was also something necessary for me.

Therefore, I received my punishment. I was punished, and became alone once more.

I became isolated.

But even that was fine.

Just looking at this place was enough to satisfy me.

This place did not accept me.

Even so, just picturing that beautiful scenery allowed my heart to remain at peace.

Even though I had no regrets whatsoever. Even though that was supposed to be the case.

…It only sounds like an excuse, but even knowing the shame of it, if I must say it.

That child pushed me forward.

Even so, to follow the old sayings, I am the one who took the first step across the Rubicon. I chewed on my own shallowness, wondering if I had truly been this weak all along.

Or perhaps, I cursed my own deep-rooted sinfulness for actually feeling joy at even that.

…There is no one left in this world who will call my true name.

…My name is.

…………My name is—

Vol 3 Chapter 39 – Recollection

“Well, I’ll just say good work.”

The day after fulfilling the conditions.

Summoned by the Demon Lord, I was prostrating myself in front of the throne while being glared at by Aroma-sama with eyes that looked ready to shoot me to death.

“With this, it means you have officially become Our servant. How is it, are you happy?”

“Yes, it is an honor greater than I deserve.”

“Hmph.”

Chris scoffed at me.

This brat.

“That being said, it seems you did work somewhat hard. Come here, We shall give you a reward.”

“Hehe.”

As I trotted up to directly in front of her, Chris held up her right index finger and pointed it downward.

“Crawl.”

“Yes.”

“Wait a minute, Princess, what are you planning?”

“Aroma, keep quiet. And stop calling Me ‘Princess’.”

For now, as told, I got down on all fours.

When I looked up at Chris through my bangs, I could see a gleam of amusement momentarily surface within her expressionless face.

“Lick Our foot. We shall take that as proof of your loyalty.”

“Hold on!”

“Do not make weird noises. You have always been restless, Prime Minister.”

Chris smiled once and dangled her crossed right foot right in front of my face.

“What’s wrong? You can lick Garon’s feet, but you cannot lick Ours?”

When I tried to reverently lift Chris’s foot with my hands, she kicked my chin.

“Do not use your hands. First, take off the shoe with your mouth.”

“Yes.”

I bit the shoelaces, untied them, and carefully removed her shoe.

“The sock too. If your teeth so much as graze Me, We will take your head right here and now, understand?”

Slipping my tongue between her foot and the sock, I took the pure white fabric in my mouth and slowly dragged it off.

A flawless, white bare foot—something impossible for a human—reflected in my eyes.

“Come now, what is the matter. Start from the tips of the toes.”

“Yes.”

It had been a long time since I last remembered this, but I know what to call this sensation.

It’s humiliation.

Even playing the frivolous clown and deceiving myself time and time again, it’s difficult to maintain it when faced with this woman.

I could do it easily when I first came to Agusta, but stopping by to visit the graves on the way to Tiamaria for some extra pocket change recently might have been a bad idea.

Unlike when I was bought here as a slave, perhaps because I spent a long time thinking about various things in front of the stone monument I had placed myself, my original intentions have been slightly revived.

As I took the tips of her toes into my mouth and let my tongue crawl over them, it tasted a little salty.

I wonder if the components of a demon’s sweat are the same as a human’s.

“Do not rest. Clean them perfectly, right down to the webbing between the toes. Leave absolutely not a single speck of dust.”

“Nn. Yes.”

Licking, sucking, carefully cleaning even the gaps between her nails and toes, I could feel it trembling when I ran my tongue along the sole of her foot.

“Nn. Fu, just like a mountain monkey, you are quite good at this sort of thing.”

“Thank you very much.”

Finally, giving one last lick from her heel to her ankle, I pulled my face away.

“Do not break your posture.”

While trying not to be conscious of her taste lingering in my mouth, a soft weight settled onto my back.

“Instead of cleaning the kitchens and the latrines, We will give you a new job. Come immediately when We call. We will be using you as a chair.”

“Hold on a minute, Your Majesty! Please stop messing around.”

“We told you to keep quiet, Aroma.”

“No, I will not keep quiet! If you have the free time to play with a human like this, please attend to your official duties!”

“We will, right now. This new chair is unexpectedly comfortable to sit on. It seems We will make good progress.”

Listening to that conversation happening above me, I once again realized my current situation.

The one who killed my mother.

The one who killed my father.

The one who killed everyone in the village is touching me right now.

Pinning me down with her rear end, and laughing.

She is looking down on me.

Can I forgive her?

I will forgive her.

Can I love her?

I will love her.

I have to love her.

The woman who makes a fool out of me and looks down on me, the Demon Lord.

The Demon Lord, Christela.

Because I am just a human.

I have to love her.

I’m happy.

I’m so happy to have her ride on my back.

I must be happy right now.

I love her. I’m happy.

I’ll love her.

I’m happy right now.

I’ll kill you.

No.

I’ll love, I’ll kill you.

Love. I’ll love, I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you.

I’ll love you, I’ll love you.

I’ll love you.

Right, right, ahaha, I love her.

I’m telling you, I love her.

I love her.

Because I’m Nine now.

Ah, yeah.

This is no good.

I’m still too unreliable to love her.

Just Mother Garon isn’t enough.

That’s right, I still don’t have enough mothers.

I have to make more and more mothers.

Do I need a father too?

That’s right, it’d be better to have a pet too.

Nine needs those things.

Isn’t that right, hey, Tia-sama.

Answer me.

Hey.

Look at me.